An Cosantóir

| 17 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE competition were concluded it was down to business for the Irish team. Based out of Plomeur Rugby Club, the Irish team commenced training for their opening match against Uzbekistan. Playing five matches in twenty (20) days required a balance between training and recovery. Our physio, Jonathan Angland had his fingers worked to the bone in keeping the players patched up and ready for the next game. While the ice bath provided by the French was worth its weight in gold, it unfortunately struggled with the size of some of the players and a more suitable option was found in the Atlantic Ocean. This tournament was always going to be a squad effort and the success of the competition came down to the efforts from the squad members to be able to balance their work commitments as well as their family and social lives for the duration of the competition. This involved a number of personnel arranging their own flights to get home for family occasions, courses or other commitments during the competition. However, all of this would not have been possible without the assistance of their home units and the General Staff in facilitating them to be released for the competition. While we may not have had the 'rub of the green' with some of the refereeing decisions we certainly landed on our feet with our Liaison Officer. Adjutant Florian Bourdin (AKA 'Mick') couldn't have done more for the squad in ensuring that we had everything that we needed and in arranging our transport, sightseeing, and feeding requirements. He integrated so well into the Irish team that he was even mistaken as Irish on a number of occasions with some locals surprised to find out he was actually French. MATCH ROUND UP Irelands first game in a Military Rugby World Cup would be played in Paimpont against Uzbekistan on the 19th of August. Uzbekistan proved to be extremely physical and determined throughout. Ireland's nerves in the opening quarter resulted in some unforced errors that allowed the Uzbek's some vital territory. In the Ireland conceded to a resilient Uzbekistan team, who ran out as winners 43-0. On the 23rd of August, Ireland faced the double world champions, Fiji. This would be the first time the Irish DF would face the Fijian Cibi (Fijian war dance). Played in Pontivy, the Fijian flair was coupled with sheer athleticism and power proving too strong for the Irish team, Fiji winning 56-3. The score-line however did not reflect the Irish team's performance. The Irish scrum was dominant throughout and were extremely unlucky not to turn possession into points. The final group game saw Ireland face New Zealand on the 27th of August. The New Zealand Defence Forces performed their Haka in Vannes, the second tribal challenge in four days. The Defence Blacks took the lead in the first half, with Ireland keeping the pressure on and staying within touching distance of the lead. In a heroic performance by the Irish team in both attack and defence, the NZ team ran out winners 39-24, scoring a late try to take it out of reach from the Irish. With the group stage complete, Ireland had qualified in the top 8 and a match against Australia awaited. The DF faced off against a strong Australian side in the Trophy semi-final which took place in front of a very large attendance in Plabennec on Saturday 02 Sep 23. Australia immediately laid a marker down with an early try and brutally punished any individual defensive errors by the DF and ran in three more tries during the first half. The DF started the second half very strong. Controlled and aggressive attacking led to a very well worked team try by S. O' Connell making the score 28-13 going into the last 30 mins. Fatigue and a number of injuries took their toll and Australia ran in a late salvo of tries to give a full-time score of 52- 13 – not reflecting the overall performance of the DF. The Defence Forces played Tonga in their final game of the International Defence Rugby Competition. The game was the 3rd place play off for the Trophy Competition, with the winner finishing 7th seed overall in the tournament standings. Ireland would again face a southern hemisphere war dance called the Sipi Tau, which is a tradition carried out by Tongan Rugby teams since 1994. Both teams exchanged scores in the 1st half but as the 40mins ended it was the DF whole held the lead 17-15 after scores from S. Smyth and R. Conway with the extras and a penalty added by D Liddy. C. McNally scored an excellent try off an attacking lineout to give the DF the lead going into the last quarter. Tonga sustained a large period of pressure right up until the last play of the game. However the DF team held out to secure a 24-22 victory on the final whistle. An impressive performance in 30-degree French heat against a fast paced and strong Tongan team outfit. Preparation has already commenced for the upcoming season and building for the 5th Military Rugby World Cup. The team placed 7th overall, playing against 4 teams from the Southern Hemisphere. After this great learning experience, we feel we have the potential to be able to compete with the Top 4 given the opportunity again. A special mention has to go to the travelling support for the Irish Defence Forces. Numerous friends and families made the trip over to France and their efforts were greatly appreciated by the entire squad. The travelling support made their voices heard before, during and after every game and helped to build a great team spirit wherever the team went. Some were even roped into the odd job and a big thanks to Thomas O'Neill for all his work in providing the video analysis to the team. Want to get involved……….. for information regarding DF Rugby, please contact: Capt Phil Dowling – 1 BAR (Men's Rugby) Capt Meabh O'Brien – 2 BDE HQ (G7) (Women's Rugby) Ire v Fiji Ire V NZ Marty Cummins rises highest v Uzbekistan Opening Ceremony

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